**IMPORTANT PARK NOTICES**
Monitor local surf and weather reports before your park visit.
•
[O’AHU] UPDATED 1/7/25 - Ka’ena Point State Park, Keawa’ula beach, and Kaʻena Point trail has REOPENED.
•
[HAWAI’I] 1/7/25 - Kua Bay/Manini’ōwali Section of Kekaha Kai State Park is CLOSED to swimming.
•
[OʻAHU] UPDATED 12/16/24 – Diamond Head State Monument: Beginning January 6, 2025 to July 25, 2025, or upon completion of construction project, the park will close at 2:00 p.m. Monday – Friday, (excluding weekends and holidays) due to a construction project. The last reservation time slot for Parking and Entry and Entry Only during this time will be 12:00 p.m. If you reserved at 12:00 p.m., you must enter the Park no later than 12:30 p.m. or you will be denied entry. Please check back for updates.
•
[MAUI] UPDATED 12/16/24 – Mākena State Park - Invitation For Bid For Sealed Bid Proposal To Provide A mobile Food Truck Concession At Mākena State Park on Maui. Any party that may be interested in providing a bid may inspect the concession premises by calling DSP at (808) 587-0505 or contact DLNR-Division of State Parks Property Manager, Ms. E. Keiki Kipapa, by email to [email protected] Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Hawaii Standard Time (HST) except Federal and State Holidays. See Full IFB: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/files/2024/12/SPM25-010A.pdf
•
[OʻAHU] UPDATED 11/4/24 – Kaʻena Point State Park, Mokuleʻia Section: The 2024 Kaʻena Point permit and decal is being extended through 2025. You do not need to apply for a new permit now, you will be notified when applications open next year. Take good care of your decal, we cannot replace decals. Please remember to take rubbish bags home, do not leave it a the trash bins.
•
[KAUAʻI] UPDATED 11/4/24 – Waimea Canyon State Park/Kōkeʻe State Park: Paving will take place on Waimea Canyon Road leading into Puʻu Hinahina Lookout on Wednesday, November 6 limiting vehicle access into and out of the lookout parking lot from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. Pedestrian access will remain open, and vehicles can access the lookout before and after the closure.
Pu’u Ola’i Beach (a.k.a. Little Beach) at Makena State Park to Close Temporarily
Posted on Jan 5, 2021(Kahului) – Sunday afternoon and nighttime beach parties with drum circles, nudity, illegal alcohol and other illicit substances, coupled with hundreds of mask-less people in close contact with one another, has prompted the immediate closure of the Pu’u Ola’i beach, the smaller of two beaches located in Makena State Park on Maui.
Social media posts from last Sunday, show an estimated 400 people on the beach. Previous observations and monitoring by personnel from the DLNR Division of State Parks and officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) show continued disregard for State mask mandates and social distancing guidance.
State Parks Administrator Curt Cottrell said, “Out of an abundance of caution we are forced to take the extraordinary action of closing off Pu’u Ola’i due to the egregious behaviors of a segment of Maui residents and visitors.”
Earlier, in the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s believed a participant in one of the Sunday parties was responsible for spreading the virus to others.
“For everyone’s health and safety we cannot continue to tolerate the lack of personal responsibility hundreds of people are demonstrating every Sunday at Pu’u Ola’i” remarked DLNR Chair Suzanne Case. The parties have the possibility of becoming so-called super spreader events.
DOCARE officers have made repeated trips to Little Beach on Sundays and have issued citations for alcohol violations. “Unfortunately,” commented DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla, “we simply don’t have the manpower to effectively deal with crowds of several hundred people on a weekly basis.”
Closed signs and fencing are being installed at the beginning of the path that leads to Pu’u Ola’i Beach. Big Beach at Makena State Park will remain open and all visitors are reminded to follow all park rules, along with current county and/or State COVID-19 mandates.
Anyone caught at Pu’u Ola’i could be cited for entering a closed area. Chair Case concluded, “Participants in the Sunday gatherings shoulder full responsibility for this closure. It’s too bad their astounding lack of personal responsibility, penalizes everyone else who abides by the rules.”
DLNR will be monitoring the compliance of this temporary closure and examining other more permanent solutions to impeding and eliminating this reckless and illegal behavior on public land that is a valuable recreational and cultural landscape.
Makena State Parks-Little Beach, Jan. 3, 2021 from Hawaii DLNR on Vimeo.
